Water and utility bills...what to expect? (Raleigh, Durham: truck rental, 2013)

[lasershen111]

Hello all! Haven't been on here in a while...but we are finally making progress and its beena busy couple months!

We are supposed to be settling on a home in Apex in a few weeks and are very excited. But I'm just curious about bills we can expect inside the city limits there. I've notice my sisters water bill for example is rather expensive inside raleigh city limits...why is water so expensive down here?


Does anyone have a break down of what their average bills look like in Apex?

Any dos and donts as newbies? What is the recommended cable/dish and Internet services?
What about must do home care for the climate and the areas? Example: always spray for ants in spring etc?

Any great experiences with truck rentals, we will have to get all if our stuff hopefully in one trip from Maryland to Apex.



Thanks!

[North_Raleigh_Guy]

Water is cheap in Raleigh. Real cheap actually. The water bill usually for more than just water. Mine includes water, sewer, trash pickup, recycling, and a storm water fee. For a household of 2 and no irrigation system our bill comes out to around $40 a month. I can live with that. Apex may be higher or lower but I can't imagine by very much.

[mskb]

Raleigh and Garner have a tiered rate system for water - if your sister has an irrigation system, that could drive up the rates a lot.

Here's a (sort of) comparison of rates:
Utility Rates effective July 1, 2013
Raleigh, Garner

Residential Water Rates:

Tier 1 = 0-4 CCF billed at $2.28
Tier 2 = 5-10 CCF billed at $3.80
Tier 3 = 11+ CCF billed at $5.07
Non-Residential Water Rate: $2.95
Irrigation rate: $5.07
1 CCF = 748 gallons

Apex Utility rates (found on this website, along with sewer and garbage rates): Utility Rates & Schedules - Town of Apex

WATER

Inside Town Limits $ 4.26 per 1,000 gallons
$ 5.50 base charge

Outside Town Limits $ 8.52 per 1,000 gallons
$11.00 base charge

[freshjiv]

I pay about $70 a month for water/sewer. It has gotten a lot more expensive in the last year or so, mainly when the new meters were being installed (this is in downtown Durham).

[lasershen111]

I guess this is one of those things that is NOT cheaper than Maryland...we were only paying like $50 a quarter for our water and sewer bill...but did not include garbage. But...it was going up...and they were creating a "rain" tax.... So... I guess it evens out ;-).


Thanks for the info folks!

[saturnfan]

The water bills here are padded like airline prices with loads of "junk" fees.

We pay over $50/mo for 2 people in a 1 BR apt with washer and dryer.

Anything to keep property taxes low and to fool taxpayers their cry is efficient, eh?

[J.M.M]

The Apex town bill includes water,sewer, recycling, trash, yard waste, and electric. So really everything besides heat and hot water which is gas (in my case). The lowest town bill I have got so far was 87 and the highest was 115 (running central ac for June). The highest gas bill I had was 70 something in February and is down to around ~18 a month when I do not use any heat. Only been here since February.

[lasershen111]

Originally Posted by J.M.M

The Apex town bill includes water,sewer, recycling, trash, yard waste, and electric. So really everything besides heat and hot water which is gas (in my case). The lowest town bill I have got so far was 87 and the highest was 115 (running central ac for June). The highest gas bill I had was 70 something in February and is down to around ~18 a month when I do not use any heat. Only been here since February.

So do you know if the "city limits" in apex, the neighborhood I'm moving in is within apex city limits...is that the same thing as town?

[J.M.M]

I would imagine it is the same thing. Apex is a town, not a city. Don't know why it would say Apex "city limits"

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by lasershen111

But I'm just curious about bills we can expect inside the city limits there.
I've notice my sisters water bill for example is rather expensive...

Does anyone have a break down of what their average bills look like ?

This is the way to ask... everything else is anecdote.
Especially so when whatever else gets added into the water bill aside from the water & sewer.

I happened to have this in another recent post. Hope the example helps.

My W-S water bill from one year ago
Water Consumption ($12.11) plus water base charge ($7.26)
Sewer Consumption ($16.58) plus sewer base charge ($6.18) = $42.13 (6.43 cents/cf)
These are based on 70 days & 655CF flowing through the meter.

The water bill also (rather appropriately) has the Storm Water Fee.
3500SF of impervious surface (house, garage, shed, driveway) /70 days = $10.50

My Current W-S water bill:
Water Consumption ($6.32) plus water base charge ($5.70)
Sewer Consumption ($8.99) plus sewer base charge ($4.86) = $25.87 (7.28 cents/cf)
These are based on 55days & 355CF flowing through the meter.

The Storm Water Fee... /55 days = $8.25